FF pack huddles close to its leader

The Fianna Fail candidates were staying so close to their leader, you couldn't have squeezed an election leaflet between them.

There's always been a strong herd instinct in the party. And yesterday's unveiling of a "Charter for Dublin" was a welcome opportunity to regroup after the events of Friday, when former herd-member Paddy Duffy had to be abandoned to the hyenas.

Maybe it was fear of further attacks. But whatever it was, the distance party members were putting between themselves and Mr Duffy yesterday was in inverse proportion to the proximity they were keeping with the Taoiseach.

Protected only by a phalanx of children holding balloons, they huddled together in the harsh, unpopulated wilderness of St Stephen's Green on Bank Holiday Monday, looking nervous.

In fact, the only danger was the weather. And with the instincts that made him leader of the pack, Bertie Ahern spotted the threat the moment he stepped out of the State car. "We better watch the rain folks," he said, pointing at the dark clouds - possibly organised by Labour, which was holding an indoor event nearby.

With some urgency, therefore, the Taoiseach posed for photographs and pressed the flesh of the few people who could penetrate the cordon of supporters. There were more pleasantries for the unveiling of the charter (clean streets, affordable housing, more balloons, etc); but when the media raised the question of the Duffy affair, the pack leader finally bared his teeth.

He had made a "comprehensive" statement on Friday night, and this was Monday afternoon, he said. There was no "political row", he added, only the "bereft attempts of a bereft Opposition" which depended on controversies because it had no policies to offer.

And when prompted about the opinion poll results, he rammed the point home: he and the party were doing "remarkably well" despite the efforts of "the usual suspects" to do them down.

Mr Ahern's car had been parked on double yellow lines throughout the event, but with the luck which has followed him throughout his career, he didn't get a ticket. And to prove the point, the skies opened just as he was being driven away. Still the Teflon Taoiseach, and rain-proof as well.